The Legend of the Condor Heroes: From Being Expelled from Peach Blossom Island

Chapter 298 Searching for the Secret Cave
The distance on the map is not far, but the location of the secret cave is three hills away from Qingfeng Ridge where the karst cave is located, which is exactly outside the range where Wu Chengyu had been wandering around.

If it weren't for Xiao Lu leading him here according to the map, Wu Chengyu would probably have taken much longer to get here.

Most importantly, even if he came here, unless he got incredibly lucky, Wu Chengyu would likely just glance at it briefly and then leave.

Because this secret cave was so well hidden, even if Wu Chengyu knew beforehand that it was hidden, he still couldn't find the entrance.

The next morning, Wu Chengyu led Xiaolu here using his lightness skill. This mountain was a bit strange; it was about 600 or 700 meters high, but the area below the mountainside, more than 400 meters high, was all dense forest.

The grass is thick and the forest is dense, with trees at least ten meters tall, their canopies intertwined, and sunlight is scarce, making the forest very damp and dark.

This environment naturally nurtured countless venomous snakes, and ordinary people dared not approach it. It was a natural barrier. It was only when Wu Chengyu arrived that these venomous snakes sensed the aura of the Snake King and hid themselves.

However, there are almost no trees above the mountainside; it is completely bare and dark, with only rocks in sight. It is as if the mountain is composed of a single giant rock, and only the soil deposited below the mountainside can support plant growth.

When Wu Chengyu and his group arrived at a point about 100 meters from the summit, they first saw a waterfall in the distance.

The waterfall is about several tens of meters long, with a very rapid flow. It falls from top to bottom onto a platform about the size of a basketball court. On one side of the platform is a towering mountain, and at the other end is a cliff.

The waterfall flows down from the mountaintop, forming a small pool on the platform. When the water level in the pool reaches a certain height, it flows towards the cliff, forming another intermittent waterfall on the other side of the mountain.

In addition, there is a giant tree near the boulder on the mountainside, or rather, this is the only tree above the mountainside. Wu Chengyu could not identify what kind of tree it was. It was nearly fifty or sixty meters tall, and the trunk alone required more than a dozen people to encircle it.

This tree seems to grow on the rock, its thick roots extending deep into the crevices of the stone.
But this tree is actually half withered and half thriving. The part that clings to the rocks on the mountain is withered and has become one with the mountain, indistinguishable from it.

Most of the tree trunks facing outwards are full of vitality, supporting the tree as it stands proudly on the mountaintop, as if it has taken away all the spirit of the mountain.

Wu Chengyu first left the deer here, and then used his lightness skill to climb to the top by himself. The higher he went, the steeper and more slippery the mountain became. If Wu Chengyu's lightness skill had not been superb, he would not have been able to climb it at all. When he reached the highest point, he looked around and still could not see anything unusual.

However, we discovered that there was an even higher peak behind this mountain. From a distance, it looked like two mountains, but when we reached the top and looked down, we found that the mountains were connected. In fact, it was one mountain with two peaks, and there was a deep valley between them. The valley was shrouded in mist, so we couldn't see what was inside.

The valley was surrounded by cliffs on all sides, and even Wu Chengyu dared not go down easily. With his eyesight, he could not see any way to enter the valley.

Therefore, it is uncertain whether the so-called secret cave is the deep valley below, but at least the entrance is not here.

He looked around but couldn't get any information. Helpless, he ran to the waterfall again. If there really was a secret cave here, it could only be here.

Just then, the little deer was idly throwing pebbles into the pool. Wu Chengyu looked at the waterfall and immediately thought of the Water Curtain Cave. He then took a few pebbles from the little deer and shot them at the waterfall. Several times, the sound of stones hitting each other was heard. He shook his head helplessly. There was just a rock wall behind the waterfall.

Next, Wu Chengyu looked at the pool. Surely there wasn't a passage underneath the pool, since there had been a precedent at the Tomb of the Living Dead.

He gave instructions to Xiaolu and then jumped into the water. The pool was not deep, only three or four meters deep and about ten meters in diameter. It was just an ordinary puddle formed by the long-term impact of the waterfall. Wu Chengyu did not find any openings at all.

Left with no other choice, Wu Chengyu leaped out of the water, finally considering giving up. Who knew what the leader meant by marking the words "Secret Cave" on the map? But after searching in vain, he had no choice but to leave. Just then, Little Deer suddenly tugged at his hand, pointed to the big tree, and said, "Leader, there seem to be words on that big tree."

Wu Chengyu immediately went to the tree and saw that there was indeed an unfamiliar character carved on the bark. Or rather, if it weren't for the deer, Wu Chengyu would have overlooked it, since it wasn't a Chinese character and he would have just thought it was a pattern on the bark.

"This is Xia Wen? What does that mean?"

"It means to hide, to conceal."

So this tree is the real deal? Wu Chengyu quickly used his lightness skill to climb the tree, but still found nothing.

Then he came down to observe carefully and finally discovered that the withered part of the tree was so close to the mountain that it seemed to have grown out of the mountain.

He reached up and quickly discovered a hole in the dead tree, though it was hidden by vines. The tree was huge, and the hole was large enough for one person to pass through. Most importantly, when he placed his hand at the entrance of the hole, he could faintly sense a breeze coming out.

He stuck his head into the tree hole and was shocked to find that there was another hole in the mountainside hidden by the dead tree. It was more than two meters high and more than one meter wide. Most importantly, the entrance of the hole clearly had the marks of an axe, and it was definitely not formed naturally.

Who would have thought that the entrance to the secret cave was actually inside a tree? If the deer hadn't recognized the writing, Wu Chengyu would never have been able to find it.

Having searched high and low without finding it, Wu Chengyu's spirits lifted, and he was about to crawl into the tree hole when the little deer grabbed him.

"Don't be afraid, I'll be right back."

"Chief, don't leave me here alone. I can stay with you."

Wu Chengyu lowered his head and thought for a moment. The secret cave here was related to the Western Xia Dynasty, and there might be some written clues, so he really had to bring Xiao Lu along.

Wu Chengyu held Xiaolu's hand, and the two of them slowly crawled into the tree hole, and then into the stone cave.

There should be many ventilation openings in the cave, so the air is plentiful. The cave is very large, and two people can walk side by side without any hindrance. However, there is no light in the cave entrance. Xiao Lu held Wu Chengyu's hand tightly. Fortunately, Wu Chengyu has night vision and can see clearly ahead.

First, there was a straight road. After walking for about ten meters, we entered the mountain. The cave started to turn, and after a few turns, a downward stone staircase appeared in front of us.

The two of them walked down the stone steps, climbing about three hundred steps, until the path became straight again, and then they saw light.

After walking another fifty or sixty meters, a valley came into view. The valley was quite large and should be located on the other side of this mountain, that is, in the direction of the deep valley we had just encountered, but we did not actually reach that deep valley.

Judging from the distance, the valley should be hidden inside the mountain, but it is open on two sides and not completely hidden inside the mountain.

(End of this chapter)